by Lori Wilde
“Are you always this demanding?” she asked impishly.
“My horoscope said I should use my wits and force to get what I want today. I figured the peanut butter sandwiches wouldn’t hurt, either.”
By now he was standing knee-deep in water. He held her away from his chest as if preparing to drop her.
“I haven’t got all day,” he said. “Tell me now, or in you go!”
“I love you; I love you!” she said, flinging her arms around his neck. Lanie clung to him with a long-suppressed urgency and felt him tighten his hold on her.
“You’ll marry me?”
He asked it tentatively as if he feared she might reject him again. He was so vulnerable, like a little boy, and it made her want to protect him. She wanted to shelter him from whatever harm or heartache might come along in his life. Or at least be there to share the burden. Even more, she wanted to share his joy—to be the cause of it.
“I’d be a fool not to marry you.” Lanie kissed him and felt his heartbeat quicken against her ribs. He tasted like strawberry jelly and peanut butter and wine, and Lanie couldn’t get enough of him. Reece returned her kiss with equal ardor.
He was trembling when he finally pulled away.
“I haven’t shown you your wedding present,” he said, his voice husky with passion. “Unless you’d rather forget about that and make love in the pond like a couple of alligators.”
Breathless, Lanie surprised herself by saying she wanted to see the present when she really rather liked his second suggestion.
He set her down on the grass and led her up the hill toward the shed. They stepped inside and were greeted by a yearling horse whose head came no higher than Lanie’s thigh.
Deep gold, with a thick blond mane and tail, the little animal was quick to make friends, nuzzling Lanie’s pockets and then thrusting its nose into her hand.
“He’s beautiful.” Lanie stroked the horse’s sleek sides. “But you shouldn’t have. He must’ve cost you a fortune.”
“If he makes you happy, he’s worth every penny.” Reece captured her waist and pulled her to him. “You know, beat-up old trucks don’t last forever … and, unfortunately, neither do little black horses. With Tom Thumb’s help there, you’ll soon have a whole herd of mini Winnies. This way, your father’s gift to you will never die.”
“Oh, Reece.” Unable to say more, Lanie hugged him, pressing her face against his soft, knit sweater. Even in his sadness over losing the truck his father had given him, his concern had been for her. And due to his thoughtfulness, she would be assured of always having a reminder of her father through Winnie’s bloodline. Reece had turned her father’s gift into a legacy.
Lanie squeezed him tighter, grateful not to have lost this wonderful man due to her own insecurities. Grateful that he loved her despite her Calamity Jane ways.
“Elgin Thurloe says little Tom here is good breeding stock and that you should call him anytime you have any questions.” Reece played with a strand of Lanie’s hair, wrapping it around his finger. “He also said he’d take those beagles off your hands. He needs some hunting dogs.”
Lanie smiled as she remembered being so frightened by the wild, gun-toting man who’d thought they were with the highway department.
“Reece?”
“Mmm.”
“What if the new highway brings so many subdivisions and new residents that we’re forced to move away? Dot told me about a large subdivision that was built next to a pig farm. And then the new homeowners tried to change the zoning to force the farmer out. What if that happens to us?”
Reece laughed softly. The sound was deep and reassuring. “Don’t worry, nobody’s going to force us out of our home. When we go to the administration office to apply for our marriage license, we’ll ask the Board of Supervisors for an ordinance requiring larger lot sizes for new construction. I don’t want our county to grow too fast, either, and this would help us stay rural.”
Reece lowered her head as if to kiss her, then stopped.
“Did you hear that?” he whispered.
Lanie listened and heard nothing but the cool autumn breeze rustling the leaves above them. “Hear what?”
“Harp music. I think it’s time for the Kiss of Bliss.”
His lips were warm and tender, and Lanie felt her body melt against him. She welcomed the feel of his strong, capable arms around her.
Strong and capable. That described the man inside the body, as well. Lanie felt safe and protected. She’d found a wonderful new home in his arms and never wanted to leave it.
“You know,” she said, “I never thought I’d say this, but I think it’ll be fun traveling the highway to Bliss with you.”
Epilogue
“No, no, Maureen. You mustn’t color on the baby’s head with marking pens.” It was all Lanie could do to hold back a laugh at her four-year-old’s latest exploit.
“But, Mommy, he doesn’t have any hair. I don’t want people laughing at my brother.”
Reece made no effort to suppress a smile as he lifted the infant out of the bassinet. “You sit there and rest,” he said. “I’ll see if I can wash this stuff off.”
Lanie capped the brown watercolor pen and handed it to Dot to put away. Then she pulled Maureen onto her lap and hugged her tightly. “Otis will grow hair soon,” she assured her.
Lanie extracted a promise that Maureen wouldn’t color on her brother again. She felt certain her daughter would live up to her promise but wondered what other brainstorms she would act out in the future.
Only now did she realize what her father and grandmother must have gone through when she was growing up.
Reece walked back into the room, patting Otis’ freshly scrubbed head with a plush towel. He sat down in a side chair, cuddling the infant to his broad shoulder.
Seeing her big, strong husband being so gentle with his tiny son made Lanie go all soft inside. Even after six years of marriage, she was still finding new facets to the man she loved.
“Why did you give the baby such an awful name?” Dot complained as she sat between Lanie and Walter on the sofa. She dropped a kiss on her granddaughter’s blond curls.
“It’s no worse than Maurice,” Reece piped in.
“Besides,” Lanie added, “what else would you name a boy born in an elevator?”
Dear Reader,
Readers are an author’s life blood and the stories couldn’t happen without you. Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed Reece, we would so appreciate a review. You have no idea how much it means to us!
Don’t miss the next book in the Southern Charmers series, Blake. To read an except, please turn the page.
If you’d like to keep up with our latest releases, you can sign up for my newsletter @ https://loriwilde.com/subscribe/
To check out other books, you can visit Lori on the web @ www.loriwilde.com.
Much love and light!
—Lori & Carolyn
Excerpt: Blake
She was doing it again.
Blake Cassidy turned up the volume on his headset and watched the monitors in the master control booth.
Her voice quivered.
He cringed. To make matters worse, she used “and uh” too often while describing the next step in the intricate recipe she demonstrated for the television audience.
She was flubbing up royally.
Blake could almost hear the channels clicking as he imagined viewers tuning in to competing stations.
Competing stations, indeed!
He leaned back in the swivel chair and propped his sneakers on the corner of the console. The difference between his station’s ratings and the others’ was laughable. To everyone but him, that was.
Glancing over at his best friend and fellow investor, Blake watched him beam at the televised image of the lovely, tongue-tied brunette.“Why did you do this to me?” Blake asked the burly man sprawled in a chair in the corner.
Memphis Reason grudgingly took his eyes off the monitor. “
Ain’t she the prettiest little thing you ever did see?” He rubbed the back of his tattooed forearm across his graying beard.
Blake had to agree with his friend. With her dark hair and classic features, she reminded him of a young Elizabeth Taylor, only warmer and more vulnerable. Much more vulnerable. She was enough to bring out the protective instincts in a man.
“But don’t let my wife know I said that,” said Memphis. “She thinks you hired her, you ol’ rascal.”
“What about talent?” Blake swept a hand toward the viewing screen. “You can’t make ratings go up just by putting a babe in front of the camera.”
“Hey, man, she’s got plenty of talent. Why, look at that fancy stuff she’s pulling out of the oven.” Both men leaned forward to try to identify the unusual dish. “Nobody I know can cook anything that fancy.”
“Bingo.”
Blake put his feet back on the floor. He’d better go back to his office and start clearing his desk. Might as well try to look professional when he called her into his office.
He’d fired people before, but he never liked it. This time he hated it more than ever. He really liked Jillian and wished it could have worked out.
“That’s all for today.” The brunette smiled becomingly at the camera’s red blinking light and displayed her latest culinary creation. “I’m Jillian Reed. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for more ‘Cooking with Jillian.’”
Also by Lori Wilde & Carolyn Greene
Southern Charmers
Reece
Blake
Boone
Colton
* * *
By Lori Wilde
Texas Rascals Series
Keegan
Matt
Nick
Kurt
Tucker
Kael
Truman
Dan
Rex
Clay
Jonah
About the Authors
Carolyn Greene
On Carolyn Greene’s second-grade report card, her teacher commented, “Carolyn writes nice stories.” Shortly after that, Carolyn got hit in the head with a kickball which she credits for her ability to take her romance novels and cozy mysteries in unexpected directions. Over the years, she has been nominated for, or won, numerous writing awards.
Carolyn met Lori Wilde through an online writing forum more than twenty years ago, and they immediately bonded over their mutual love of romantic comedy. Since then, they’ve brainstormed dozens of novels together and shared a close friendship.
Carolyn lives in Virginia with her hot firefighter husband and two amusing miniature pinschers. They have two grown children and two grandchildren who give her plenty to write about.
* * *
Lori Wilde
Lori Wilde is the New York Times, USA Today and Publishers’ Weekly bestselling author of 87 works of romantic fiction. She’s a three time Romance Writers’ of America RITA finalist and has four times been nominated for Romantic Times Readers’ Choice Award. She has won numerous other awards as well.
Her books have been translated into 26 languages, with more than four million copies of her books sold worldwide.
Her breakout novel, The First Love Cookie Club, has been optioned for a TV movie.
Lori is a registered nurse with a BSN from Texas Christian University. She holds a certificate in forensics, and is also a certified yoga instructor.
A fifth generation Texan, Lori lives with her husband, Bill, in the Cutting Horse Capital of the World; where they run Epiphany Orchards, a writing/creativity retreat for the care and enrichment of the artistic soul.
Did you love Reece? Then you should read Handsome Hotshot by Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin!
Handsome devil Michael Parker is up for a big promotion at Barrett Software in Honey, Texas. The last thing he wants is to volunteer at the senior citizen center, but his boss insists. Truthfully, he would rather waltz with a rattlesnake than spend his days with seniors, but this promotion means everything.Peppy Casey Richards loves her life as the director of the Honey Senior Citizen Center. On second thought, maybe she's not completely happy. Not now that she's forced to spend time with this handsome, but madly infuriating, hotshot executive.Casey and Michael mix about as well as cats and dogs, but with a little help from senior citizen matchmakers, they soon discover that oh, yeah opposites really do attract…but can they find common ground when everything they hold dear falls apart?Handsome Hotshot is the fifth book in the Handsome Devils series by Lori Wilde and Liz Alvin.
